A New War
by Autobot00001
Summary: Set a few months after Sozin's Comet and one year before Spark of Rebellion, the Galactic Empire has come to the ATLA world. Can Aang and his friends stop them from conquering their home, or will they fall to the Empire's rule. Please R&R.
1. Aftermath and Arrival

The sun rose on the Fire Nation capitol, as Fire Lord Zuko looked outside from his bedroom in the royal palace. He saw some people going from one place to another, stopping sometimes to say hello to passersby, while others were repairing some of the damage done to the city during Zuko's Agni Kai with his sister, Azula, who was currently spending time as a patient at a specialized Fire Nation mental hospital. But none of that was on the young Fire Lord's mind. His nation's reputation was finally repaired after a hundred years of war, but none of that mattered as long as Zuko had one last thing to do before finally making peace with his past.

Meanwhile, downstairs in the dining room, Aang and the others were having breakfast as one of many celebrations they'd had since the end of the war four months ago. Although, it was hard for Sokka to enjoy his breakfast with Aang and Katara always cuddling and acting all mushy to each other. Every once in a while, Sokka would groan in disgust, until eventually, Toph started getting annoyed.

"What's your problem?" she asked.

"I'm still not used to Aang being Katara's boyfriend now," Sokka responded, "I know Aang's like family, but it just gives me oogies."

Toph raised an eyebrow at Sokka's statement, "Oogies?"

"Yeah, I'll explain later," Sokka said.

A few minutes later, everyone turned to see Zuko enter the dining room.

"Hey Zuko," Aang greeted the new Fire Lord, "you're just in time for breakfast."

"Thank you," Zuko said with a weak smile, "but I'm afraid that I must decline."

"Why? What's the problem?" Aang asked with concern.

"Yeah, the war's over and we were able to convince the Earth King to agree with letting the Fire Nation colonies be independent from either nation," Katara said, chiming in.

"And on top of all that, you're the new Fire Lord!" Sokka stepped in, "You should be celebrating!"

"I know, I want to," Zuko stated, "but not yet…there is something I need to take care of."

"You wanna talk about it?" Aang asked.

"I…" Zuko began, but then stopped and sighed, "I can't say, it's too personal."

"Zuko, you can tell us," Aang reassured him, "We're your friends and you're part of our team."

Zuko let out another heavy sigh before deciding that Aang was right, "Alright...I still need to find my mother."

"Your mother? I thought you said your father killed her," Katara said as she recalled what Zuko told her when they were imprisoned together in Ba Sing Se.

"I thought she was dead too," Zuko said, "...but then I found out during the eclipse that it's not the case."

"What do you mean?" Aang asked.

"My father told me that many years ago, when he begged my grandfather to be next in line for the throne after my cousin Lu Ten's death, my grandfather wanted to punish him for insulting my uncle for his son's death and wanting to revoke his birthright as the next Fire Lord," Zuko began to explain, "...and the punishment was to kill me, his first born son so my father would bear the pain of losing a son like uncle did with my cousin."

Everyone went wide-eyed in horror at Zuko's story.

"That's horrible!" Katara exclaimed, "How could your grandfather command something so horrible!? You were just a kid who didn't do anything to him!"

"Yeah! Although, I doubt your dad would've had a problem with that, given what he did to your face a few years ago," Sokka commented.

"Sokka!" Katara shouted disapprovingly at her brother.

Sokka shrugged, "What? I'm just saying."

"So?! You don't just go blabbing out something like that! Especially when it brings back bad memories for Zuko!" Katara said as she continued to scold him.

"No, it's true, Katara, while the Agni Kai between me and my father was the worst moment of my life as it marks my shame and banishment from the Fire Nation...literally..." Zuko said, wanting to continue his story, "…My father wanted me dead since the day I was born, he considered me as weak and wanted to throw me over the palace walls…luckily I was saved by my mother…and she saved me again."

"How?" Aang asked.

"That night, Azula came in, gloating how father was going to kill me as his punishment. She told me grandfather's words to my father for his penalty was 'You must know the pain of losing a first born son, by sacrificing your own', mother heard it and took Azula out to scold her for her bullying," Zuko continued, "At first I thought Azula was lying and was being cruel like always…but the very next morning before dawn, my mother came in and told me never to forget who I was…that was the last time I saw her."

Zuko's story was saddening to everyone, especially Katara and Sokka since they too knew what it was like to lose their mother.

"Then on the eclipse my father confirmed that my sister was telling the truth, and my mother found out his plans she wanted to protect me from being killed for my father's arrogance," Zuko went on, "She knew father wanted the throne, so she came up with a plan to make him Fire Lord like he wished, and in exchange, I would be spared."

"You mean she…" Katara began.

Zuko nodded, confirming what everyone was thinking, "…My mother killed Fire Lord Azulon."

"But how was your mother spared?" Aang asked, "What she did was treason, and isn't that punishable by death?"

"In the Fire Nation, the penalty for treason is different," Zuko explained, "Instead of receiving the death penalty…she was banished…like I was."

Aang walked over to his friend and put his hand on Zuko's shoulder, "We're sorry that happened, Zuko. And we'll do everything we can to help you find her," he promised.

"That's the problem, when I confronted my father again after the comet…he refused to tell me anymore," Zuko stated, "And I still don't know if she really is alive regardless of her banishment."

"I'll get him to talk," Toph said as she cracked her knuckles.

"No Toph, that's just what he wants," Zuko warned her.

"Aw, come on!" Toph whined, "I've always wanted to play the good cop-bad cop routine!"

"Yeah, well in your case, it'd just be the bad cop routine," Sokka commented.

"Exactly," Toph said with a smirk.

"Anger and violence won't solve anything, guys. It's just what he wants us to do," Zuko said, "But while my mother is gone he is still going to use her against me. Which is why I must find her and see if she's okay, and finally get closure and be free of my father's games once and for all."

Aang nodded in agreement, "Well then, I guess we'd better start look…look…" Suddenly, as Aang struggled to finish his sentence, he started to feel an unbearable chill run through him, as if a dark and cold sensation had come over him. It was one of the worst feelings he'd ever had. His friends noticed this and grew worried.

"Aang? What's wrong, sweetie?" Katara asked with concern.

"…Something's coming," Aang stated as the feeling persisted.

"What is it?" Zuko asked.

"I don't know…but it's bad," Aang said.

* * *

A few hours later, high above the planet, a fleet of Imperial Star Destroyers exited Hyper Space and hovered in orbit. Aboard the command ship, Grand Moff Tarkin stood on the bridge of the ship overlooking the planet, eyeing every little detail. Their long-range scans had told that the planet was capable of sustaining life, perhaps even human life. But considering how the planet was newly discovered, Governor Tarkin felt that the inhabitants of the planet were most likely nothing more than savages who needed to be eradicated. But the Emperor gave him explicit instructions to establish an Imperial presence in the planet's system, along with orders not to engage any inhabitants unless it was absolutely necessary.

Suddenly, Tarkin was broken out of his thoughts when he was approached by Agent Kallus of the Imperial Security Bureau.

"Governor Tarkin," Agent Kallus began, "we've come out of Hyperspace and are not in the planet's orbit."

"Excellent," Tarkin responded.

"I will inform the fleet to begin the landing procedures," Kallus said before Tarkin stopped him.

"Not yet, Agent Kallus," Tarkin told him, "First, we must learn what we can about this planet before we reveal ourselves to its people."

"And how do you suggest we do that without making contact with the native population, sir?" Kallus asked.

"The Seinar Systems have developed new Probe Droids with special cloaking devices," Tarkin explained, "We have acquired a few of the prototypes, and we will test them here to see if they are suitable for mass production."

"As you wish, sir," Kallus responded, "I will inform the fleet to begin deploying them immediately."

And with that, Agent Kallus exited the bridge. Minutes later, Tarkin turned back to the window to see the Probe Droids being deployed across the planet, entering the atmosphere in streaks of light.

* * *

Later that evening, Aang stood out on a balcony of the palace looking up at the night sky. He had done it many times before when he was troubled, but this time was different. He saw that a small meteor shower was taking place, but he couldn't help but feel that whatever was falling out of the sky and towards the surface, wasn't meteors.

"Aang? Are you okay?" said a familiar voice from behind him. Aang turned to see Katara standing in the doorway and shook his head in response. "Not really," he said, "That feeling still hasn't gone away. And now look."

Aang gestured towards the sky and Katara looked to see the meteor shower.

"A meteor shower?" Katara asked.

"No," Aang responded, "I don't know how, but I know that it isn't a meteor shower. And, somehow, I also know that it has something to do with this bad feeling I've had all day."

"Maybe you should contact Avatar Roku or some of your other past lives and see if they might know anything," Katara suggested.

Aang nodded his head in agreement, "That's probably not a bad idea."

"I'll leave you alone so you can do that," Katara said as she left the room.

As soon as his girlfriend left, Aang got down on the floor and sat cross-legged. He then began to meditate. Before long, Aang found himself inside his mind and his past life, Avatar Roku, appeared out of a cloud of dust.

 _"Good to see you, Aang. It's been a while,"_ Roku greeted.

Aang nodded, _"Yeah, I've been kinda busy. But there's something I need to talk to you about."_

 _"You are referring to the meteor shower,"_ Roku stated, already knowing what the problem was.

 _"Yeah,"_ Aang said, _"I don't know how to explain it, Roku, but I just know that it's not a meteor shower."_

 _"I see,"_ Roku responded as he slipped deep into his thoughts, _"I do not know what is happening either, Aang, but I fear that a new enemy may come into the world. One that will bring with it, a new war."_

Aang went wide-eyed at Roku's statement, _"A new war?! What can I do to prevent it?!"_

 _"I am not sure if the Avatar will be able to prevent it this time,"_ Roku said sadly, _"but you may be able to help end it."_

 _"How?"_ Aang asked.

 _"When the time is right, only you will know,"_ Roku told him before disappearing.

Aang then stopped meditating and sighed heavily, "Well, that was helpful," he said sarcastically.

* * *

Just then, at that exact moment, many millions of light-years away, Kanan Jarrus slept in his cabin aboard the starship dubbed The Ghost. As he slept, he began to see visions of people displaying all kinds of spectacular abilities. He saw a blind girl moving a rock without touching it, a teenaged boy with a scar on his face blasting balls of fire from his bare fists, a young girl about Sabine's age levitating and manipulating water by simply moving her arms, and a young boy with glowing eyes and arrow tattoos controlling all four elements at the same time. Suddenly, Kanan saw him and his crew fighting alongside these people against a group of Stormtroopers. He then awoke from his dream with a gasp just as he heard a knock on his door.

"Hey Kanan!" said the voice he recognized to be Zeb's, "Hera needs us in the common room! You coming?"

"Uh…Yeah Zeb, I'll be right there," Kanan said after a moment of catching his breath.

* * *

A few minutes later, Kanan was in the common room with Zeb, Hera, Sabine and Chopper.

"Well, we didn't get paid much this time," Hera said as she counted the Credit chips they were paid for their most recent mission, "but Vizago did trade us some intel."

"What kind of intel?" Zeb asked.

"The Empire is preparing to colonize a new planet somewhere in the Outer Rim that, according to rumors, has a substantially large human population," Hera explained.

"Then there's nothing we can really do about it," Sabine chimed in, "Why would Vizago want to send us there?"

"My guess, he wants us to gather information about it to see if it'd be worth his time to expand his 'business' there" Hera continued.

"So what, we're location scouts now?" Zeb complained, "I thought we were arms dealers."

"Apparently, we're both now," Hera responded, "What do you think, Kanan?"

Kanan was listening to the conversation, but was also thinking about his dream. He knew from his dream that they had to go to that planet. It was as if the Force itself was telling him to go there.

"Kanan?" Hera asked with concern.

Kanan looked up for a second. "Hera, could I have a word with you in private?" he asked standing up.

Hera paused for a moment then shrugged. "Of course."

Both Kanan and Hera stepped into the hall. After the door slid shut, Kanan turned to the Ships pilot with a fearful look in his eyes.

Hera saw that look before, and it usually meant something bad, "You had a vision, didn't you?"

"Yes," Kanan answered rubbing his forehead, "And I think it was about that same planet. From what I saw, it's inhabited by people who have these, I don't know, abilities which somehow seem like those of Force wielders.

Hera just looked at him confused, "What do you…?"

"Somehow they were just using their movements to control different elements, like air, fire, water, even the ground. Plus, there was one person who seemed to be more powerful than anybody else. If the Empire gets to him first, then we could be looking at Order 66 again or possibly something even worse.

Hera stood still. She knew how Kanan felt about Order 66: the one order that caused all the republic clones to betray and slaughter the Jedi Knights. It was never easy for him. But the idea of something worse than the event that killed every Jedi in the galaxy… she didn't even want to think about it. She then put her hand on his shoulder, "I understand, Kanan."

Back in the common room, Sabine, Zeb and Chopper were waiting for Hera and Kanan to finish their discussion.

"They've been in there for a while," Zeb stated, "I wonder what they could be talking about."

"My guess, probably some sort of benefit of going to this new colony and scoping it out," Sabine suggested while pulling out one of her pistols, "The population could have a good array of resources that we could use."

Just as Sabine was checking something on the pistol, the door opened and their pilot and leader stepped through prompting her to put it back in her holster.

"We're taking the mission," Kanan announced.

 _ **"What?! That's ludicrous!"**_ Chopper exclaimed.

"For once, I agree with Chopper," Sabine commented, "Why should we go there if the Empire's already there first?"

"Because it's important," Kanan said firmly, "There's a good chance that the empire may be attempting to colonize a populated world with no means to defend themselves against them. If so, many of that planet's population could die."

Zeb and Sabine looked from their leader to each other. They knew that Kanan was right. The empire took over each of their home worlds and on both occasions many citizens were killed.

"Count me in," Zeb stated with an attitude.

"Me too," Sabine said, "I've been looking for an opportunity to blast a couple storm troopers anyway."

"So I guess we're all in," Hera said as she stepped forward, to the table "and it's a good thing Vizago gave us the coordinates for the system. I suggest we all gear up, and move out as soon as possible."

 _ **"You're all idiots!"**_ Chopper said before leaving the common room.

* * *

 **Me: I hope you guys like this new story. It begins a few months after Sozin's Comet and a year before Spark of Rebellion, FYI. Also, if you guys have any ideas for how this story should continue, I'm all ears. Please review.**


	2. A Day of Discoveries

A few days later, Aang and Zuko traveled to the Royal Prison outside the Fire Nation Capital. Zuko had been to that prison many times to visit his uncle Iroh after betraying him in Ba Sing Se, but this time it's his father who is the prisoner. While Zuko vowed to cut ties with Ozai and denounce him as his father, there was one thing he had to do first and that was to get answers about his mother's whereabouts so he can find her and get closure. Needless to say, his first visit wasn't a very successful one as Ozai refused to cooperate, but this time it was going to be different.

"You sure you wanna do this again, Zuko?" Aang asked, "I mean, it's not like he'll talk this time."

"I have to try, Aang," answered Zuko, "I have to find my mother and know if she's alright and happy so I can finally be at peace and move on. But are you sure you want to do this? You haven't been yourself for the past few days."

And it was true. Ever since the night he saw the meteor shower, Aang had been feeling that as bad as things were, the worst was yet to come. He hadn't told his friends about what Roku said about another war happening since they were busy helping rebuilding the nations, as well as the Fire Nation's reputation since there were still people who saw the Fire Nation as evil and firebenders as monsters. While he was worried about the vision, right now he wanted to help Zuko since the young Fire Lord could not rebuild the Fire Nation to its former glory until he found his mother.

Aang nodded, "I'm sure. Regardless of how I've been acting, I still want to help you. You deserve closure, Zuko."

"Thank you, Aang," Zuko said with a great sigh, "Then let's do this."

And with that, the two of them entered the prison and made their way down the hallway to Ozai's prison cell, where the ex Fire Lord sat on the floor in rages and with his hair a mess. When Aang took his firebending, Ozai was taken to the Fire Nation court where Zuko and the council found Ozai guilty for crimes against humanity and sentenced him to life in prison, stripped of his title as Fire Lord and disowned from the royal family by Zuko.

"Well, if it isn't the respectable Fire Lord Zuko," Ozai said with a wicked smirk, "And I see you've brought the Avatar. I haven't seen him since he took my bending away."

Aang glared at the defeated Fire Lord, remembering everything he and his forefathers had done to the world, "You deserved worse, but I wanted the war to end peacefully, and killing you wouldn't have been the right way…I spared you for my beliefs, not for you."

Ozai chuckled darkly at the young airbender's words, "So what brings you two to grace my prison again with your presence?"

"You know very well why we're here!" Zuko snapped at his father, "And you know what I want to know!"

"Really? Oh what was it...ah yes, you mean about Ursa's whereabouts," Ozai guessed, "...Oh my apologies, it appears I don't recall."

"No more games!" Zuko shouted, "You're going to tell us where she is, and we're not leaving until you do! I won't let you use my mother against me! And you should know where she is since you banished her and allowed her to escape the night Fire lord Azulon died!"

"Have you forgotten why I banished her?" Ozai began, "remember, during the eclipse I told you my father's death was not from natural causes. Your mother was the one who arranged the plot and committed the act of treason, are you sure you want to be reunited with the woman who murdered your grandfather?"

"You are just as guilty for the crime, Ozai," Aang stepped in and sternly looked at Ozai, "you were part of your father's assassination and you did it so you could become Fire Lord, you had your own father killed for your selfish interests. So you can't blame your father's murder all on Ursa when she did it to save Zuko."

"And what makes you think I'll tell you?" Ozai asked, "Zuko is Fire Lord, isn't that what's important?"

"Nothing is more important than knowing what happened to my mother who loved me and sacrificed everything to save me," Zuko answered, "but I'm losing my patience and I have no other options…and you're running out of time."

"What do you mean?" Ozai inquired.

"The people of the Earth Kingdom are calling for your execution for what you did to its people and Capital," Zuko explained, "and I'm more than willing to comply to their demands to make it happen."

Aang was shocked by his friend's words. Aang never thought Zuko would ever hand down such a harsh penalty as execution, let alone on his own father regardless of what he had done. Ozai, on the other hand, chuckled and the young Fire Lord's words, "So you're finally willing to do what's necessary."

"It's not just necessary, it's also personal," Zuko continued, "You have hurt too many people, practically destroyed civilizations and nearly destroyed the world, and throughout my life you abused me, called me worthless when I wanted was to make you proud and not be ashamed of me…but looking back on it I realize that you were never worth pleasing and I ended up being saved by letting go of the hope of getting your love when I realized you never had love to begin with, only an insatiable lust for power.…and I have the scar on my face to prove it and I will have it until the day I die. But I am willing to spare your life if you tell me where my mother is, so this is your last chance. If you don't tell me I will give the Earth Kingdom consent to take you to Ba Sing Se where you will be beheaded with millions of people cheering as they watch you die. The choice is yours."

Ozai paused for a minute and then smirked again, "You may as well abandon your futile mission, seeing you desperate and suffering for your mother is all too pleasing and will be the downfall of the Fire Nation and it will prove once and for all, that you, are, worthless."

"So you're not going to tell us?" Zuko asked.

"No I'm not," Ozai answered him, "Especially when it will haunt you for the rest of your life. Your misery is my victory, Zuko."

Zuko tightened his fists in anger at his father's words and gave him a death stare, "Then you will head to an early grave!"

"Wait!" Aang shouted as a thought entered his head, "Ozai doesn't have to say anything!"

Zuko looked at his friend in confusion, "What?"

"And what do you mean by that, boy?" Ozai asked in amusement.

"Aang, a word," Zuko said as he took Aang to the side to talk privately, "What are you talking about, Aang?"

"I think I can use energybending to look into his mind the same way I took his bending away," Aang suggested.

Zuko's eyes widened in surprise, having never heard of this is, "Is that even possible?"

"If there is anything I've learned, with energybending I can see everything that a person is and not just as a bender," Aang answered, "Just let me give it a try, Zuko, I think this can work."

They turned back to Ozai, and Aang stomped his foot on the ground. The very moment his foot hit the ground, the floor beneath Ozai shot up and restrained his hands and legs.

"Ah! What are you doing?!" Ozai demanded.

"If you're not going to tell us where Ursa is," Aang said as he entered the cage, "then I'll just have to find out where she is myself."

The young Avatar then placed his hands on Ozai's forehead and shoulder as he did when he took the former Fire Lord's bending away. Aang's tattoos then started glowing, and a few minutes later, they stopped and Aang stepped away, swaying a bit in exhaustion. Zuko caught him and helped him find his feet again.

"I…am guessing you didn't give me back my bending," Ozai panted, "So what did you do to me?"

"I looked into your mind," Aang explained, "Everything you know about Zuko's mother, I know. You lose, Ozai. You can't hurt Zuko by using his mother's disappearance against him anymore…it's over."

"You know where my mother is?" Zuko asked.

Aang nodded, "I do."

"So where is she, Aang?" Zuko asked again.

Aang looked at his friend and smiled. "She went home," he answered.

* * *

Meanwhile, not far outside the Fire Nation Capital, the Kyoshi Warriors were scouting just along the rim of the island's volcano. Suki, the leader and Sokka's girlfriend, looked out on the horizon as she and her fellow warriors walked on.

"It sure is beautiful out here," Suki commented, "Hard to believe we were once at war seeing how peaceful everything is."

"I know what you mean, but the war's over now," said Ty Lee, the newest member of the warriors, "We can finally move on and start a new era."

Suki nodded, "I know."

Suddenly, one of the other warriors stopped, "Hold on,… did you hear that?" she asked.

"Hear what?" Ty Lee asked.

Just then, they all stopped as they heard it. It was like a voice, but sounded more like vibrations than a human voice. And it was coming from somewhere inside the mouth of the volcano.

"Stay here," Suki instructed, "I'm gonna go check it out."

She then went to the top of the volcano and looked around to see what looked like a black metal octopus with four clawed tentacles and large round spider eyes, floating on a ledge just below the rim. And to make things even stranger, it seemed to be looking right at the capital city in the heart of the volcano. Suki knew she had to do something, but just as she stepped onto the ledge and took a couple steps forward, the machine turned its head, spotted her and shot something in her direction. She managed to avoid getting hit directly, but the blast hit the ground inches away from her, knocking her off her feet and slightly burning her leg.

Suki screamed in pain as she clutched her leg. The machine looked like it was about to attack again, the other Kyoshi Warriors appeared.

"Suki!" one of the warriors cried as they all came to her aid. As they all prepared for a fight, the metal creature started blasting at them as well, but failed to hit them as they managed to dodge the blasts. As the Kyoshi Warriors charged at it, the machine suddenly exploded. The resulting shockwave knocked the warriors off their feet and against the volcano's walls.

"What the Heck was that thing?" Ty Lee asked in confusion as she and the other warriors got back up.

"I don't know," another warrior said as she helped Suki to her feet, "but we'd better get Suki back to the palace so Katara can heal her."

* * *

About an hour after their meeting with Ozai, Aang and Zuko returned to the royal palace. As they walked down the hallway, Aang still couldn't believe what Zuko had said, it was unsettling and chilling. He had to know if it was true.

"Did you really mean what you said, Zuko?" he asked, "About…ending your father's life, that is?"

Zuko stopped and shook his head, "No, I lied. I might've been desperate, but I'm no executioner. And no matter how horrible Ozai was to me, I could never execute my own father…especially when execution would only be his escape from his crimes. I want him to serve his sentence in defeat. And hopefully what I said to him will let him see how I felt when he made threats to me when I was a child."

Aang smiled at his friend's words, now knowing the truth, "That's very wise, Zuko. Don't lower yourself to his level, you're better than he is."

"Thanks, Aang," Zuko thanked with a nod, "So what did you mean when you said my mother went home."

"Well…" But before Aang could continue, he was cut off as he and Zuko saw Sokka run past them in a hurry, "Whoa! Sokka, where's the fire?"

Sokka stopped and looked at them, "The Kyoshi Warriors were attacked outside the city! Suki's been hurt!"

"What?!" Aang and Zuko shouted in unison before all three of them took off running toward the healing room.

* * *

"There, how does that feel, Suki?" Katara asked as she moved her water covered hands over the burned area on Suki's leg.

"Ah, so much better," Suki sighed in relief. Suddenly, Aang, Sokka, and Zuko rushed into the room. Sokka ran over to Suki and pulled her into a firm but gentle hug.

"Are you okay, Suki?!" he asked worriedly.

Suki then leaned in and gave Sokka a reassuring kiss, "I'm fine, Sokka."

"What happened?" Aang asked.

"Was it the New Ozai Society?" Zuko asked, referring to the group of radicals who remained loyal to his father and had made multiple attempts on the young Fire Lord's life.

Suki shook her head as Sokka stepped back, "No, the other warriors and I were attacked by this…thing."

"What thing?" Aang asked in confusion.

"I don't know, but it was made of metal," Suki explained, "It blasted something at us that burned my leg. But the weird thing is, whatever it shot, it wasn't fire or lightening like from a firebender."

Aang put his hand to his chin, "That is strange."

"Well…" Toph began, "If it wasn't anything from a firebender, then what could that thing have shot?"

"We don't know. But we did manage to bring back what was left of it," one of the other warriors said as she pointed to the large pieces of metal on another table, "It somehow exploded before we could even attack it."

As Katara continued to heal Suki, everyone else walked over to the table and examined the chunks of metal.

"It looks like some kind of… advanced machine," Sokka stated after a few moments.

"How would you know?" Zuko asked in confusion.

"Trust me, you pick some stuff up when you're friends with a mechanist," Sokka explained.

As Aang looked through the scraps, he turned a piece over and his eyes immediately widened in shock and horror at what was printed on it. He then felt the chill return to him and he staggered backwards.

"Aang, what's wrong?" Katara asked as she stopped healing Suki and rushed over to her boyfriend to grab him before he fell over.

"I don't know," Aang said, "I just don't know."

They all looked at the piece of metal and saw a symbol none of them were familiar with. Painted on it was a strangely shaped circle with six extending points encircled by a thin rim along with what looked like strange wheel spokes. None of them knew it at the time, but it was the symbol of the Galactic Empire.

* * *

 **Me: I would like to thank my good friend white pedal for the amazing beta she did for this chapter. I would also like to thank the guest who gave me the inspiration and ideas I needed to continue this story. Now, I know this'll be a bit disappointing to you, but Ezra will not be appearing in this story until we get to the events of Spark of Rebellion, and the same goes for the Inquisitor (who as we all know now was actually the Grand Inquisitor), and even though the rest of the Ghost Crew is going to show up on the ATLA world eventually, there will be no official reveal that Kanan is a Jedi until the time is right (Spark of Rebellion). Anyways, thanks for reading, don't forget to review with any ideas you might have that could help me continue this story, may the Force be with you, and have a great day!**

 **P.S.: To the guest who helped me write this chapter and gave me ideas for the next one, I just want to say the, while I will continue to follow your advice and take your ideas into consideration, I won't be publishing your reviews that outline how you think the chapter should go because, while your ideas are good and I may use them, I don't want to spoil the story for everyone else, and I also wish to try to implement my own ideas into it. It's nothing against you, your ideas helped me save this story, I just don't want to ruin future events for the rest of the readers. Message me back with another review if you understand.**


	3. The Empire

A few hours had passed since the Kyoshi Warriors had their encounter with the Imperial probe, but unknown to anyone on the planet, aboard Governor Tarkin's Star Destroyer, Agent Kallus monitored the readouts on the Probe Droids. So far, none had sent their information back to the fleet yet, as they weren't scheduled to do so until a certain time, but then Kallus's computer beeped and he pressed a button and saw that one of the probes had sent information back early, indicating that it had initiated its self-destruct function.

"Governor Tarkin," Kallus said as he turned to the Grand Moff who was standing at the observation deck of the bridge. "What is it, Agent Kallus?" Tarkin asked, turning his gaze away from the planet below. "I believe you should see this," Kallus stated before Tarkin walked over to him, "One of our probes has stopped responding. I believe it may have self-destructed."

"And what makes you so sure of that?" Tarkin asked, unconvinced and irritated, "It could also very well mean a weak signal."

"Because it transmitted data back to the ship early" Agent Kallus explained. He then pressed a button and played back the data sent by the probe. They were then shown images of five female human warriors in strange-looking armor and makeup, but what puzzled them the most was the footage of a primitive yet sophisticated-looking city in the heart of an active volcano.

"A city in a volcano," Tarkin mused, "Most intriguing."

"The inhabitants appear to be human," Kallus continued, "Although, since they attempted to attack our probe, they appear to be nothing more than savages."

 **"These people are not savages,"** said a dark-sounding voice, accompanied by a noise that sounded like mechanical breathing. Agent Kallus felt a chill down his spine as he, Tarkin, and everyone else on the bridge turned to see the Dark Lord himself, Darth Vader. While Kallus and the other crewmembers feared Vader, Tarkin did not.

"And what makes you so certain, Lord Vader?" Tarkin asked, still unconvinced of the words of the Emperor's apprentice.

 **"While primitive, these people are advanced enough to build cities such as this one,"** Vader began gesturing to the image, **"Additionally, I have monitored the transmissions from the other probes, and they have revealed that many of these people possess highly intriguing abilities."**

"How are you able to monitor the information from the probes ahead of schedule, Vader?" Tarkin asked, now slightly infuriated.

 **"I simply bypassed their signals and had the information sent to my chamber,"** Vader explained, **"As the Emperor has given me clearance to do, if you will remember."**

"What sort of abilities do these people possess, my lord?" Agent Kallus asked before Tarkin could say anything he'd regret.

Vader then pressed a button on the control console and recordings were shown of people manipulating water, fire, rocks, and even the very soil itself with just a few body motions. Agent Kallus's eyes widened in shock, while Tarkin looked at the recordings in amusement.

 **"They do not appear to be Force-sensitive, but they may yet prove useful to the Empire,"** Vader stated.

"Then the time has come to make our presence known," Governor Tarkin announced.

Kallus bowed his head to them, "I will prepare the landing party, Governor,"

"No," Tarkin stopped him, "You have done well, Agent Kallus, but your services will no longer be required here. You are to return to Lothal and see to it that our new security measures are followed."

"Very well, sir," Agent Kallus said, not wanting to question his superior's orders.

"Lord Vader," Tarkin began, turning to said Dark Lord, "Tomorrow you will accompany me down to the planet to help demonstrate our power, but then you will return to Coruscant, per the Emperor's orders."

Vader bowed his head in agreement, **"As you wish."** As he walked onto the observation deck, Darth Vader looked out to the planet and paused for a moment, as he sensed something… unusual. The presence of a strange energy. Whatever this power was, Vader knew it wasn't from the Force, but he strongly felt as though it could prove useful to both him and his master.

* * *

"Hmmm…" the mechanist pondered as he examined the remains of the machine that attacked the Kyoshi Warriors the next morning, "Intriguing. I've never seen anything like this before, but it is indeed a machine."

"Yeah, but it's definitely more advanced than any other technology in the world," Sokka commented.

"So where do you suppose it came from?" Zuko asked.

The mechanist shrugged, "I honestly couldn't tell you for certain, but if it's not like anything in our world, then it stands to reason that it may not be from our world."

"This day just got a whole lot weirder," Toph said.

"You think there could be more of them out there?" Katara asked.

"Anything is possible," the mechanist stated, "If this machine truly is from another world, then it was probably sent here for a reason, and more of them may have been sent here as well for the same reason."

"He's got a good point," Sokka said with an agreeing nod and a pondering hand on his chin, "After everything we've seen in the past year, I'm willing to bet that whomever or whatever sent this thing, didn't send just one."

"If there are more of them out there, we'll find them," Suki said as she attempted to stand up, but struggled in doing so.

"No Suki," Sokka argued as he helped his girlfriend back into her chair, "You stay here and regain your strength. We'll go looking for them."

"Count me in!" Toph exclaimed in excitement, "What about you, Zuko?"

Zuko shook his head, "I'm afraid I won't be joining you."

"Because you're the Fire Lord and you're needed here, right?" Sokka guessed.

"Actually," Zuko began, "I have somewhere else to be."

Everyone looked at the young Fire Lord in confusion until Katara realized what he was talking about, "You're going after your mom, aren't you?"

"Yes," Zuko said with a nod, "Aang told me that she was born on an island on the far side of the Fire Nation. He figures that's where she might've gone after my father banished her, so I'm starting my search there."

"Well good luck, Zuko," Katara wished him, "I hope you find her."

"We all do," Suki added.

"What about you, sis?" Sokka asked Katara, "You coming too?"

"No, I have to stay behind to heal Suki," Katara said, "…and keep an eye on Aang."

"How's he doing?" Zuko asked.

"He has this feeling that something bad is about to happen," Katara explained, "so he's meditating in his room right now to try to figure out what this all means."

"Don't worry, Katara," Sokka said in a reassuring tone, "I'm sure it's just a small dispute in the spirit world or something like that."

Katara smiled at her brother but then looked down, her face suddenly unsure and worried about her boyfriend.

* * *

At that very moment, Aang sat on the floor in his room in the Lotus position as he tried to contact Avatar Roku again, but, for some reason, he was unable to. He groaned in frustration as he struggled for another ten minutes, "Why can't I talk to Roku?!" Aang then let out a heavy sigh as he got another idea, "Maybe if I went into the Spirit World I can find something there that can help me."

Aang then returned to meditating and a few moments later, his tattoos began to glow as if he were in the Avatar State. The young airbender opened his eyes again, but much to his surprise, he wasn't in the Spirit World. He looked all around and saw that he was surrounded by billions of stars.

"What the…this isn't the Spirit World!" Aang shouted in surprise.

 _"Spirit world?"_ chuckled an unfamiliar voice, _"Possible, I did not think it could be, but many surprises, there are in the universe."_

"Who's there?!" Aang asked in fear. He didn't know whose voice it was, but from the way this person talked, he didn't sound like any Avatar.

 _"Calm yourself, young one,"_ the voice instructed, _"A friend, I am. Heard your cry for help, I did."_

Aang sighed in relief, "Thank you. So...do you really think you can help me?"

 _"Indeed,"_ the voice commented, _"Now tell me, young one, what troubles you?"_

Aang shook his head, "I don't really know how to describe it, but something's been happening to me and I feel that I really need help to understand what it is."

 _"Explain,"_ the voice said with what sounded like growing concern.

"I've been feeling this…weird…cold sensation inside of me," Aang began.

 _"A sensation of cold, you feel?"_ the voice asked.

Aang nodded, "Yeah. It first happened a few days ago, and then yesterday when I saw a strange symbol on some sort of machine my friends brought back. I don't know what it means, I just know that I don't like that feeling, I think that it means that something really bad is coming."

 _"Hmmm…"_ whoever was talking to him, Aang felt like they knew something about it. And sure enough, they did, _"Sense the power of the Dark Side of the Force, you do. Resist it, you must."_

Aang raised an eyebrow in confusion, "Wait, what's the Force?"

 _"Heard of the Force, you have not?"_ the voice asked in surprise, _"Unexpected, this is, but not unheard of."_

"But what is it?!" Aang asked, growing more frustrated.

 _"Patience, young one,"_ the strange voice told him, _"Come in their own time, many answers must. Rush them, do not, force them, do not,"_ The voice paused for a moment, _"Careful with your feelings, you must be. Your anger, consume you, it can. Lead you down a dark path, it will."_

Aang sighed heavily, "I'm sorry. I'm just afraid of losing my friends…like I lost my people."

 _"Understandable, this is,"_ the voice commented, _"but mindful of your fear, you must be as well."_

"What does fear have to do with any of this?" Aang asked in confusion.

 _"Everything!"_ the voice lightly exclaimed, _"Fear is the path to the Dark Side, a domain of pure evil. Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate…leads to suffering."_

Aang remained silent. He knew that this person, whomever he was, was right. Fear was what drove him to abandon his people and the world when they needed him the most, and he was to be forever haunted by that action, and the suffering that resulted from it, both to him and the rest of the world.

Aang then heard a sigh from the voice, _"Told this to someone else, I did, many years ago. Listen, he did not. Seduced and consumed by the darkness, he was. Use this knowledge in the coming battle, you must, young one. Save your world, you can, as you did before."_

"I…I will," Aang finally said.

 _"Good,"_ the voice said, _"May the Force be with you."_

Just then, Aang came out of his trance and his tattoos stopped glowing. He then stood up and ran out of his room to find his friends.

* * *

Meanwhile, high above the planet, the Ghost came out of Hyperspace, and up to the orbiting fleet of Star Destroyers.

"Well what do you know?" Hera said sarcastically, "Vizago's intel was accurate for once."

"Yeah, but we still gotta get past those Star Destroyers before they spot us," Zeb commented.

"Attention incoming vessel," said a person on the Comm. Channel, "This sector is restricted by order of the Emperor. Leave immediately or be destroyed."

"Way to jinx it, Zeb," Sabine remarked.

"Okay, everyone get to your stations!" Hera instructed. Everyone ran out of the cockpit and to their stations, Kanan at the top turret, Sabine at the nose gun, and Zeb at the rear gun in the Phantom.

Admiral Konstantine watched as the rebel ship flew past the observation deck of the bridge. "Admiral, the ship is not attempting to leave," one of the Crewman said.

"I can see that, Corporal," Konstantine said in annoyance, "Deploy fighters."

"Here they come," Kanan commented as he saw the TIE Fighters being deployed from the Star Destroyer and fly right towards them. The crew then began firing at the TIE's as they started firing at the Ghost in response.

 ** _"We're all gonna die, aren't we?"_** Chopper asked sarcastically through the Comm.

"Oh, shut up, you bucket of bolts!" Zeb barked at the Astromech, not understanding what he said. Soon the fight reached the upper atmosphere as Sabine shot down one of the TIE's, but another one of them shot back and hit the ship.

"Blast it!" she shouted.

"I got it!" Kanan saw as his targeting system locked onto the last TIE, but before he could pull the trigger, something happened. Kanan saw a flash of light and brief images of what appeared to be a large temple carved into a mountain.

 _"Specter 1! Take the shot!"_ Hera shouted through the comm. channel, but Kanan couldn't hear her. The next thing he saw was the same temple engulfe in flames and a large fiery comet streaking across the sky with the sound of people screaming in the background.

 _"Kanan!"_

Kanan suddenly snapped out of his vision as the TIE Fighter hit the Ghost's main stabilizer, damaging it.

"Everyone hang on!" Hera warned, "We're going down!"

The Ghost then began to plummet towards the planet, but as it did, Zeb pulled the trigger and destroyed the last TIE before it could return to the fleet. After a minute the ground came up and the ship skidded to a halt. When they finally stopped, everybody breathed a collective sigh of relief. But Kanan looked around, feeling very uneasy about what he saw.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the Fire Lord's war room, Aang explained his newest vision to his friends, and as expected, they were all confused by his story.

"It still doesn't make any sense," Sokka commented, "How can you be contacted by someone who isn't one of your past-lives or a spirit, Aang? And how does he know you saved the world?

Aang shook his head, "I don't know. But whoever he was, he says that these feelings I've been having were coming from something he called… the Dark Side of the Force."

"What's the Force?" Katara asked.

"Yeah, he didn't really explain to me what that or what the Dark Side was," Aang explained, "But he did say for me to control my feelings in the coming battle."

Zuko looked at the young airbender in confusion and worry, "Coming battle?"

Suddenly, one of the palace guards burst into the war room, and by the look of things, he was in a hurry. "Fire Lord Zuko!"

"What is it, what's wrong?" Zuko asked.

"There's something you need to see, my lord!" the guard explained. He then led everybody outside of the palace where they saw something none of them expected to see. It was a large, triangle-shaped ship in the sky. But it wasn't like the Fire Nation airships, it was much larger and looked as though it had appeared from out of nowhere. Aang and his friends were in utter shock at the sheer power of the ship's appearance, and they all had a feeling that something bad was about to happen.

"What the Heck is that?!" Sokka shouted.

"I don't know," Aang said, "But I've got a really bad feeling about this."

* * *

Tarkin sat in the cockpit of his shuttle as it departed from the Star Destroyer and began the landing cycle. In the center of the city was a large palace, and he knew that whoever lived there was of great importance and possibly even one of the planet's leaders. A few moments later, the shuttle landed in the palace courtyard, where a group of guards were waiting for them. The shuttle's ramp then came down and Tarkin departed, accompanied by six Stormtroopers.

"Stop right there!" one of the guards shouted as he and the other guards got into their fighting stances, causing the Stormtroopers to ready their blasters at them.

"Lower your weapons, troopers," Tarkin ordered, "We are not here to fight."

"Then why are you here?" the same guard asked keeping his stance.

"Where is your leader?" Tarkin demanded, "We wish to speak with him."

Seconds later, Zuko came out of the palace, followed by Aang and the others, "What's going on here?" Zuko asked.

"This man wishes to speak with you, Your Highness," one of the guards explained as he gestured to Tarkin.

Zuko turned to Tarkin and glared at him. "I don't know what's going on here," he began, "but as ruler of the Fire Nation, I demand that you explain yourself."

"You are the ruler of this…nation?" Tarkin inquired.

Zuko nodded, "Yes."

"I must admit, I was expecting someone much…older," the governor commented with smirk.

Zuko growled at the grey-haired man. He always hated being ridiculed for his age, "I won't ask again! Who are you and what are you doing here?!"

"You may not have realized this, but you are not alone in this universe," Tarkin began, "I am Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin, Governor of the Outer Rim Territories and representative of the Galactic Empire. Your planet is now under Imperial protection."

"I don't care who you think you are!" Zuko barked, "Even if you people are from another world, there's no way we'll follow you! Our people have been through too much after the last hundred years, and we don't need, or want your protection!"

Tarkin began to grow irritated as he glared at the young Fire Lord, "Careful boy. You should choose your words wisely, for they may be your last."

The Stormtroopers then aimed their blasters at Zuko. Suddenly, Aang stepped forward and began to speak, "Even if we wanted your protection, you'd need approval from every nation."

"And the Fire Nation does not approve!" Zuko shouted as Aang tried to hold him back. Suddenly, a severe chill ran down the Avatar's spine as he and his friends heard a mechanical noise that almost sounded like breathing. They all looked to the shuttle and their eyes widened in shock as Darth Vader exited. The only person who wasn't intimidated was Toph, but that all changed the moment the Dark Lord of the Sith stepped off the ramp. Through the vibrations in the ground, Toph could sense that this figure had metal limbs. It reminded her of Combustion Man, the assassin Zuko sent to eliminate them before joining up with them after the Day of Black Sun.

 **"If you resist us,"** Vader began as he held his hand out like he was gripping something, **"your people, will die."** The moment Vader held out his hand, Zuko felt his throat clench up and he began gagging, as if something was choking him. Aang and his friends looked in horror as their friend suffered and struggled for air, especially Katara, who was greatly reminded of Hama, the waterbender who had tricked her into learning her bloodbending technique.

"Vader! Enough!" Tarkin ordered.

 **"As you wish,"** Vader said as he released Zuko from his Force-choke, causing him to fall over and gasp for air.

"We shall give you one week to decide," Tarkin spoke again, "And if all of your nations' leaders are not in agreement, I can assure you there will be consequences. Severe consequences."

Tarkin and Vader then walked back up the shuttle's ramp, followed by the Stormtroopers. As Aang and his friends helped Zuko to his feet, the young Avatar watched as the shuttle departed, knowing that the Empire's forces would return, and undoubtedly ready for a fight.

* * *

Meanwhile, on another island in the Fire Nation, the crew of the Ghost waited outside for Hera to come out with the diagnostic. Moments later she and Chopper came out of the ship. "So, you guys want the good news or the bad news first?" Hera asked.

"I'm always optimistic. What's the good news?" Kanan asked her.

"Well, the Hyperdrive and the Phantom are still operational," Hera began, "but the bad news is the main stabilizer is shot. It's gonna take me sometime to fix it."

Kanan nodded, "Well until then, it looks like we're gonna be stuck here for a while," he stated, "Zeb, you take Sabine and see if there's anyone out there who may be able to help, and if you can, grab a few spare parts just to be safe. Chopper, you stay here and help Hera."

 _ **"Seriously?!"**_ Chopper complained.

"Shut up, you rust bucket!" Zeb growled.

 ** _"Fine, fine!"_**

"What about you, Kanan?" Hera asked.

"There's somewhere else I need to be," Kanan stated as he looked at the Phantom.

Hera was confused as to why Kanan had to be somewhere else, but she had a feeling something was bothering him, "…Okay. Just be careful."

"Yeah, especially since you almost got us killed up there," Zeb remarked.

"Yeah, sorry about that," Kanan said as he rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.

* * *

About an hour later, Zeb and Sabine were wondering through the woods, trying to find a village or something where they could find spare parts for the Ghost, or at the very least somebody who knew how to help.

"Nothing but trees, trees, and more trees," Sabine remarked.

"Kinda reminds me of Kashyyyk," Zeb commented.

"Since when were you on Kashyyyk?" Sabine asked in confusion.

"Long story, but the short version is that I spent some time there after the Empire conquered my planet," Zeb explained, "A Wookie named Chewbacca helped me hide out and we gave the Imperials a hard time." Zeb then let out a slight chuckle, "And I helped him find a job with some smuggler who had a few run-ins with Jabba the Hutt."

"Sounds like you," Sabine commented.

Suddenly, a large wall of fire formed in front of them and blocked their path. Zeb and Sabine then armed themselves as they were then surrounded by five male humans riding strange horned creatures.

"You wanna piece of me?!" Zeb shouted as he drew his Bow Rifle and set it to Electro-Staff mode. But his threat was short lived as a rock knocked his rifle out of his hand and two more knocked Sabine's blasters out of her hands. They then looked to see a group of other men in green and gold uniforms and strange, funnel-shaped hats on their heads.

"That does it!" Zeb growled.

"Zeb! Stand down!" Sabine instructed.

"But…"

"Just do it!" Sabine shouted, "They have us surrounded!"

"You'd better listen to your little friend, freak," said Colonel Mongke, leader of the Rough Rhinos.

"Ah karabast!" Zeb cursed as he and Sabine raised their hands, which were then restrained by handcuffs made of rocks.

"They could be working for the usurper," said the Dai Li Commander, "We'd better send word to Governor Ukano in Omashu."

Just then, Colonel Mongke shot a fireball at the commander, just barely missing him, "For the last time, Omashu is no more!" he shouted, "It's New Ozai!"

"Of course, Colonel," the commander said as he bowed his head, "My apologies."

"So how are we gonna get outta this one?" Zeb whispered to Sabine.

"Not sure," Sabine responded quietly, "But we'd better do what they say for now."

* * *

 **Me: Well THAT took longer than expected, but it was worth it. I'd like to personally thank my new friend** **GoX335 for helping me come up with ideas for this story and beta'ing it for me. I couldn't have done it without him. I hope** **you guys enjoyed this new chapter, and don't worry, there'll be more to come along the way. Also, just because Darth Vader appeared in this chapter, don't expect him to show up anymore in this story until we get to the events of Rebels. Please review, but be nice.**


	4. Escaped!

Zeb and Sabine grunted as they tried to free themselves from the tree they were tied to. They couldn't believe that they were actually captured by a group of mercenaries who were obviously less advanced than them. But, at least it was better than being captured by the Empire.

"Well this is a fine mess we've gotten ourselves into," Zeb commented sarcastically as he struggled.

"Enough with the sarcasm, Zeb," Sabine snapped.

"Sorry, it's just how I am," Zeb said.

"I know." Sabine looked at the group that had captured her and Zeb and found them odd. All of them were human, but they were obviously primitive, judging by their apparel. Yet, they were intriguing, especially the leader who was able to generate fire with his bare hands, and the soldiers with the green uniforms, who were actually able to control the ground beneath them. She didn't think anything like this was possible, nor that any person in the galaxy could possess abilities like these, unless perhaps they happened to be a Jedi. But that wasn't possible. Based on what she saw, none of these men could be a Jedi. Besides, Sabine knew what happened to them when the Empire came along…everyone did.

"So how long after we're overdue does Hera come looking for us?" Zeb asked her.

"That I don't know, but my comm's busted," Sabine told him, "and if we don't figure a way out of this, we'll probably be stuck here."

"Shut it, you two!" Colonel Mongke snapped at them, causing Zeb to growl at him, "Despite how easily we disarmed and captured the two of you, I have a feeling you're both capable warriors."

"You might say that," Sabine chuckled, "So who are you guys anyways?"

"You haven't heard of us?!" Mongke said in surprise before bursting out in laughter, "There's nobody who hasn't heard of the Rough Rhinos!"

"Well we haven't!" Zeb shouted earning a glare from Mongke.

"We're…new around here," Sabine stated, "Anyways, now that we know who you are, could you please enlighten me on what exactly you have planned?"

"If you must know, we were hired by the New Ozai Society to free the Fire Nation's rightful ruler from her imprisonment, after her usurper brother put her in a mental hospital on this island," Mongke explained in annoyance, "And if our orders say so, you two will be helping."

Suddenly, a large, strange-looking bird of red color flew in and landed in the camp. Zeb and Sabine were confused as Colonel Mongke walked over to the messenger hawk and silently read the message it was carrying. Sure, they knew there were plenty of primitive people all over the galaxy, but they didn't know the people on this planet were so primitive that they didn't have an electronic method of long distance communication yet. They both began wondering if these people even had electronic equipment of any kind. After Mongke finished reading the message, he looked over to the captured Lasat and Mandalorian, and smirked. "Looks like it's your lucky day," he said. "You two are helping us spring the princess after all."

"Lucky us," Zeb replied sarcastically.

"Is that such a wise idea, Colonel?" the Dai Li Commander asked, "After all, we don't even know anything about these two. Let alone what THAT thing is." He then gestured in Zeb's direction.

"Hey!" retorted Zeb.

"That doesn't matter!" Mongke snapped, "We're taking them with us! But don't give them their weapons yet."

The commander bowed his head at Mongke and untied Zeb and Sabine from the tree, before putting another set rock handcuffs on them. Unknown to any of them, a Fire Nation scout had been watching them from a distance. He then ran back to his own camp as fast as he could and wrote down a message of his own. After that he rolled it up, tied a black ribbon around it, tied it to another messenger hawk, and sent it off in the direction of the Fire Nation Capital.

* * *

"Where is he?!" Mai shouted frantically as she rushed into the healing room.

"Right here, Mai," Zuko said in a raspy voice as Mai ran to him and quickly wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly.

"Are you alright, Zuko?!" she asked, "I heard something happened!"

Zuko nodded to his girlfriend, "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Good," Mai sighed in relief as she let go of her boyfriend, "What exactly did happen, anyway?"

"We had some unexpected visitors," Zuko explained.

"Visitors?!" Sokka exclaimed in disbelief, "They're from another world, and they wanna conquer ours!"

"Wait, people from another world?" Mai asked in confusion.

"They say they're part of a group called the Galactic Empire, whatever that means," Zuko began.

"Yeah, and there was this one guy in black armor, it looked like he used some kind of bloodbending technique on Zuko," Sokka continued for him, "Tried to choke him to death or something."

Zuko shook his head in disagreement, "I don't know, Sokka. Whatever he did to me, it didn't seem like bloodbending. Besides, your sister explained to me that bloodbending can only be done at night when there's a full moon. The moon isn't anywhere near being full yet, not to mention the fact that it's still light out."

"Maybe he figured out how to do it without a full moon," Sokka guessed.

"There's only one way to be sure," Katara said as she walked over to Zuko, with a bowl of water. She then drew the water into her hand and began to use her healing technique on Zuko's throat. She took a minute to check, and suddenly her eyes went wide as she made a startling discovery and put the water back in the bowl, "It wasn't bloodbending."

"How do you know, sis?" Sokka asked.

"Because none of Zuko's veins are clotted," Katara explained, "The muscles around his throat are tense, but still, no clots. It's almost like something was actually grabbing his throat. I don't exactly know what happened, but whoever that Vader guy was, I'm not sure if he's a bender at all."

"Not only that," Toph chimed in, "but I felt the vibrations in the ground when he walked and…"

"What is it, Toph?" Katara asked.

"It seemed like that Vader guy had… metal limbs."

"Metal limbs? You mean like Combustion Man?" Sokka asked her, causing Zuko to blush in embarrassment for a moment at the memory of the assassin he had sent to hunt them down a few months ago.

"Not exactly. Combustion Man's metal limbs were just that: metal," Toph told everyone, "But Vader's limbs felt like they had wires running through them, not to mention he could move them like they were regular limbs. And it also felt like a lot of the rest of his body was made of metal."

"I don't get it," Katara said before turning to her boyfriend, "What do you think, Aang?" Aang didn't say anything. He simply remained silent, and his friends knew that something was wrong.

"Aang? What's wrong, sweetie?" Katara asked with worry.

"…I felt it again," Aang finally answered in a whisper, "The cold."

"You did?" Zuko asked.

Aang nodded, "Yeah. It happened again when I first saw Vader, and then when he started choking you, Zuko. Only, it was a lot stronger than before. It was like all the joy in the world was gone, and all that was left was anger, hate, and fear. And I feel as though the worst is still yet to come."

Everyone remained quiet for a few minutes, thinking about what Aang had just said. And as Aang continued to ponder his thoughts on everything that had happened, he started to feel something else. Another feeling that he had sensed within Vader, but was unable to know what it was until now. That feeling was sorrow. It somehow seemed like Vader was missing someone, someone…important to him. But before Aang could continue these thoughts, a Fire Nation soldier suddenly burst through the door. "Fire Lord Zuko! There's an urgent message for you!"

The soldier handed Zuko the message and he read it to himself, and as he did, he went wide-eyed.

"What does it say?" Sokka asked.

"The Rough Rhinos and five Dai Li Agents have been spotted on Smoke Island with two strange-looking prisoners," Zuko explained.

"Smoke Island?!" Katara exclaimed in realization, "Isn't that where they're holding Azula in a mental hospital?!"

"Exactly," Zuko confirmed with a nod, "And the note says they're planning on breaking her out. We have to go! Now!"

"We'll go," Aang said, "You stay here and recover."

Zuko paused for a moment, but then nodded in agreement, "Okay. Just be careful. You know what my sister is like."

"All too well," Mai replied with a displeased attitude.

* * *

Later that evening on Smoke Island, the Dai Li Agents, moved through the forest outside the mental hospital with Zeb and Sabine. They then scaled the walls of the structure and moved stealthily across the rooftops and eventually made their way to the courtyard of the hospital. Eventually, they came to the door of one of the rooms where two guards were standing idle.

"I got this," Zeb said as he walked over to the guards, who immediately got into their fighting stances.

"You there! Stop right there or-what the Heck is that thing?" one of the guards said as they both got a closer look at the Lasat warrior.

"Apologies in advance, I normally only like doing this to Stormtroopers," Zeb said in embarrassment before he punched both the guards in the head, knocking them out. Sabine and the Dai Li Agents rushed over.

"You! Get this door open!" the commander quietly snapped at Sabine.

"Alright, alright!" The young Mandalorian then took a small pin out of her utility belt and began to pick the lock with it. Eventually, she got the door unlocked and pulled it open. Inside, they found a young girl who looked to be about Sabine's age with long black hair, strapped in a straightjacket and sitting in the corner of the cell. The Dai Li Agents rushed in and began to remove her straightjacket.

"We're here, Princess!" the commander told her.

"What are you doing here?!" Azula snapped at him with a crazed look in her eyes, "You were banished!"

"As I said before, the Dai Li would never betray you," the commander stated.

As Azula was freed from her restraints, she looked to see Zeb and Sabine and was immediately startled. "What is that thing?!" she yelled as she blasted blue fire at Zeb.

"Whoa!" Zeb exclaimed as he and Sabine immediately jumped back in the nick of time, "What the?"

"Calm down, Your Highness," the commander began, "This…thing is our prisoner, and he and the other one are helping us get you out of here."

Suddenly, the Rough Rhinos rode their rhinos over the roofs of the asylum and came onto the courtyard.

"Okay, let's get out of here already," Colonel Mongke shouted.

"You there! Stop!" said a voice. Everyone looked to see the other guards rushing towards them. Mongke scraped his arm braces together, the spikes on them creating sparks as he did, and the Rhinos, the Dai Li, and Azula got into their fighting stances and began to fight the guards as Zeb and Sabine ran to the side.

"What are we gonna do?!" Sabine asked.

"How should I know?!" Zeb growled.

Suddenly, one of the Rhinos backed up their way, and Sabine immediately noticed her blasters and Zeb's Bo Rifle. She immediately ran over and grabbed them, jumping back at the last minute and handed Zeb his weapon.

"Let me show these bozos what happens to those who try to take me prisoner," Zeb said with a smirk as he switched his rifle into Electro-Staff mode.

* * *

Meanwhile, a few miles away, Team Avatar flew over the village on Smoke Island on Appa, heading for the hospital, and accompanied by Zuko's uncle, Iroh, who had agreed to assist them in recapturing Azula because they knew that if she managed to escape, they'd need another firebender to help stop her.

"Thanks again for coming with us, Iroh," Katara told him gratefully.

Iroh smiled at the young waterbender, "The pleasure is all mine, my dear. I remember what you said happened the last time you fought Azula."

"Speaking of which, you're not gonna try to reason with that firebending she-wolf, are you?" Sokka asked.

Iroh shook his head, "No, she's crazy and needs to go down." Suddenly, everyone looked at Iroh in surprise. "What?" Iroh asked.

Toph then turned her head over towards Aang. "You've been pretty quiet, Twinkletoes. What's up?" she asked.

"It's just that the Rough Rhinos trying to break Azula out couldn't have come at a worse time," Aang began.

"You mean with what's going on with that Empire, right?" Sokka guessed.

The young Avatar nodded, "Exactly. All of us have already experienced losses from the previous war, but nothing could've prepared us for this. There's no telling what the Empire could do to us."

Iroh then went over to Aang. "I know everything may seem hopeless right now, Aang," Iroh began as he put a hand on Aang's shoulder, "but even in the darkest of times, there is always a new hope on the horizon."

Aang didn't really know what to say. Iroh's words tended to confuse him along with Zuko. But the young Avatar figured he was right. After all, he and his friends had been through bad situations and always bounced back, and if they could do that during those times, they could do the same here. But before he could continue those thoughts, Aang and everyone else turned their heads as they all heard the sound of explosions coming from the asylum.

"Uh oh," Sokka said, "Sounds like Azula's out."

"Yeah, but this time, we're ready for her," Aang replied as he whipped the reins on Appa's horns, "Appa, yip-yip!"

* * *

Back in the court yard, both the Dai Li and the Rough Rhinos were trying to keep ahead of Sabine and Zeb's attacks, but the Lassat just kept blocking their own attack with his bo rifle, while Sabine stunned them with her blasters.

"Just like the old days!" Zeb laughed.

"Here we go," Sabine groaned. She then quickly ducked behind a wall to avoid another rock onslaught before peaking back out and firing off a couple more shots to knock a couple more Dai Li off their feet.

"You said that they would help me escape!" Azula shouted at the Dai Li commander.

"I did," the commander replied in a panicked manor, "but in my defense, they were our prisoners."

"This is exactly why I banished you!" Azula growled while she took aim and positioned her fingers.

Just before Azula could make her next move the doors were blown open and the Gaang stepped in with Toph in the middle still in her stance. "Room service!" she mockingly called out. Everybody just looked at her in confusion, "What?" she retorted.

Azula did a quick once over of the group, and right next to her uncle, she saw Aang standing defiantly. "The Avatar!" She shouted as her eyes narrowed in on him. Getting back into her fighing stance, she shot a bold of lightning directly at Aang, which she had just assumed would hit him, but Aang was ready. Moving fluidly he caught the bold with his two fingers and redirected it back to Azula who just barely managed to doge it.

Zeb and Sabine couldn't help but stare at what the teenage monk had just done, "Whoa." they said in unison.

"Impressive," Iroh commented the young Airbender.

Aang stood back up and straightened himself before turning to the old man, "Thanks, Zuko taught me."

"He taught you well," Iroh replied.

While nobody seemed to be watching, the last of the rough rhinos tried to sneak away, but Sabine spotted him and took aim. "I don't think so," she said before pulling the trigger and stunning him.

Azula looked around to see herself surrounded by the strangers, the Avatar, his friends, and her traitorous uncle. It seemed like they had her beaten, but at just the last moment she spun around and generated a giant wall of fire around herself prompting everybody to shield themselves from the heat. When the flames dissipated, they all looked to see that she had just disappeared.

Zeb just looked at the spot in confusion. "Did she just kill herself?"

"No," Iroh stated, "I've seen that trick before, even used it a few times myself."

Aang narrowed his eyes knowing what that meant. "She'll be back."

After the initial shock of seeing Zuko's sister escape from them, the Gaang turned their attention to Zeb and Sabine. They were just stunned by them, until that day none of them had ever seen, or in Tophs case sensed, anybody like them before.

"Uh…hi," Sabine said in attempts to break the tension.

"Who are you guys?" Katara asked.

"Better question… what are YOU?!" Sokka asked looking towards Zeb

Zeb just growled at Sokka. "Whatsamatter, kid? You've never seen a Lasat before?" Zeb asked clearly annoyed.

Toph just stood confused. "A what?"

"They were helping to free the princess, Avatar Aang," one of the guards said as he stepped forward.

Sabine responded by putting her hands up in defense. "Hey, we didn't even want to do it, those guys took us prisoner and forced us."

"Yeah, and seeing as how we're not from around here, we had no idea that she was crazy!" Zeb stated.

Everyone looked at Toph for her opinion, but Zeb and Sabine just looked at each other confused as to what they were expecting from her.

"They're telling the truth," Toph said.

"Okay," Aang nodded.

Zeb and Sabine were glad that at least somebody believed them, but they just became even more confused. "Wait, how do you know?" Sabine asked.

Toph just put her hand up. "Long story, I'll explain later," she said before crossing her arms again.

Aang turned to the group after a though hit him. "Let's take these guys back to the palace. Maybe they can help us."

Zeb perked up at what Aang had said "Hold on, help you with what now?"

"We'll explain when we get there," he said to Zeb before grabbing his bison whistle and blowing it.

"Hey!" Zeb shouted while covering his ears, "What was that about?"

After a few moments, Appa came flying in. Zeb and Sabine couldn't help but stare at the giant bison as it landed, but what came as an even bigger surprise to them was the saddle on his back and how the others were climbing on like they were going to ride it. "Wait a sec! We have to ride on that thing?!" Sabine asked in discomfort.

Appa turned his head and and growled at the sight of Zeb.

"Oh karabast…" Zeb said indignantly.

"Don't worry, he's really friendly," Katara said as she stroked Appa's side, "Right big guy?" She asked Appa.

Appa just responded with a happy sounding bellow. With no other options for transportation, Zeb and Sabine reluctantly climbed into Appas saddle. Unknown to anybody, Azula was watching from the rooftop close by. After Appa took off, she slipped away and ran into the woods nearby, completely unaware that an Imperial probe droid that was watching nearby had just uncloaked itself having recorded everything.

* * *

Azula continuously wandered through the woods her mind racing with thoughts. "This is all part of your plan, isn't it, mother?!" she thought, "Well, it's not going to work!" Moments later she stopped, thinking that she heard voices.

"I think it's this way!" something shouted.

Azula crept over to the area the voice originated to investigate. Finally, she found a small clearing occupied by a small squad of Stormtroopers.

"Are you sure we're heading the right way?" One of them asked.

"Affirmative," a second one confirmed, "The probe sent the signal just a few clicks north from here."

A third Trooper looked turned his head taking in the surroundings, until he spotted Azula, prompting him to ready his blaster, "You there! Freeze!" he shouted at the princess.

The other Troops looked to see her and raised their own blasters as well.

Azula stood up and glared at the Imperial men with a sinister eye. "My mother sent you, didn't she?!" she asked with heavy breathing and a deranged tone.

The second trooper kept his sights on Azula as he took a couple steps forward. "I don't know anything about your mother. We were sent by Governor Tarkin to…"

"Whoever you are," Azula interrupted, "you won't take me!" she yelled before creating a lighning bolt and directing it towards the troopers. Two of them were knocked against the trees, and the other two just slumped over, dead. Just as Azula was about to ready another attack, another Stormtrooper snuck up and stunned her from behind causing her to fall to the ground unconscious. The two surviving troopers rushed over to where their attacker had fallen.

"We should kill her," one of them said, "She's too dangerous to be left alive."

"Agreed," stated the trooper that knocked Azula out, as he prepared to shoot her again but with his blaster set for kill this time.

Just before his comrade could pull the trigger, the first tooper held his hand up. "Hold your fire!" he commanded before getting a closer look at Azula, "She's that princess fugitive the probe reported in about. I say we take her back to the Sovereign and let Governor Tarkin decide on what to do with her."

The other two nodded in agreement before the stunner, lifted Azula up and carried her through the woods over his shoulder.

* * *

Meanwhile, somewhere in the planet's southern hemisphere, Kanan flew the Phantom through a mountain region, still wondering what his vision had meant. Finally he looked up and saw the same building from his vision, the Southern Air Temple. He couldn't help but stare in awe at it, a whole temple carved out of a mountain. After a moment, Kanan regained focus and began steering the ship towards the building. "Might as well get some answers here," he said in a determined tone.

* * *

 **Me: Hey! I am so sorry for the late update you guys, I was really busy with work and I just got back from a week-long vacation late last night, but I am so glad that I finally got this done. I'd like to personally thank my friend GoX335, who is now my co-author on this and some of my upcoming projects. He's done an amazing job finishing this up for me. So what will happen now that Zeb and Sabine have met Team Avatar? What will happen now that the Empire has captured Azula? And what will Kanan find at the Southern Air Temple? Stay tuned and find out!**


	5. New Alliances

Kanan circled the temple until he found a court yard, to which he then brought the Phantom around and began landing. A moment after he touched down he heard the comm link on his belt beep.

 _"Specter 2 to Specter 1, do you read me?"_ came Hera's voice.

Kanan grabbed the device and pushed a button on the side, "Loud and clear, Specter 2," he responded, "What's up, Hera?"

 _"Repairs to the Ghost are pretty much done, Kanan, but Zeb and Sabine haven't reported in or come back yet,"_ Hera responded with a hint of worry in her voice.

Kanan put on a concerned expression, "That's not like them."

 _ **"I say they got captured,"**_ Chopper chided in.

 _"That doesn't help, Chopper!"_ Hera told the droid.

Kanan exited the Phantom and looked around. He couldn't believe what he was seeing around him.

 _"What about you, Kanan? Did you find what you were looking for?"_ Hera continued.

"More or less," Kanan responded while he started walking through the courtyard, "I found a temple that looks like it was carved out of a mountain."

 _"A temple? Is it a Jedi temple?"_ she asked with what sounded like a bit of hopefulness.

Kanan looked to his right and stopped at the sight of a magnificent wall mural of robed people standing on a mountain and some kind of animals, who appeared to be floating in the air, "No, not Jedi. But it's weird," he continued as he walked, "And it looks…abandoned."

 _"Well don't spend too much time exploring it, Kanan,"_ the pilot warned, _"As soon as Zeb and Sabine get back, we should probably leave before the Empire comes looking for us."_

"Copy that," Kanan replied just as his eyes settled on a statue of what appeared to be an elderly man in a sitting position, "Specter 1 out," he said before reattaching the comm link to his belt.

Kanan walked over to the statue, taking in all the details. After a minute he noticed some writing on it but was unable to read it. However, he felt something inside him telling him about the monk it depicted, "Monk Giatzo."

Suddenly, Kanan heard the unmistakable sound of screams. He turned around quickly to see what was happening, but there was nothing to be found. How could that be? He could have sworn that he heard people screaming in pain like they were being attacked, a noise he was regrettably familiar with. It then dawned on him that he was hearing the echoes of something horrible that happened here in the past. But he could only imagine what.

"…What happened here?" the Jedi asked himself.

* * *

Meanwhile, the Gaang, along with Zeb and Sabine, flew on Appa as the sun began to rise. Everyone in the saddle is staring at them, with the obvious exception of Toph. Zeb tried to ignore them but he soon groaned not being able to take it any longer, "What?"

"Sorry, it's just…we've never seen anything like you guys before," Katara stated.

Sabine simply shrugged, "Not all that surprising, judging by how your people aren't all that advanced. Zeb actually came from the planet Lasan, several parsecs away from this one."

Sokka looked quizzically at Sabine, "I'm guessing you're not from our planet either, right?"

"Nope," Sabine said as she removed her helmet, "But I am human like you guys."

Seeing that Sabine was indeed human was a bit of a surprise to the others, but the most surprising thing to them right then was her orange and blue colored hair.

"Then what's with your hair?" Katara asked.

"Oh, I colored it this way."

"She does that a lot," Zeb added before Momo came up to face and started examining him, "Uh…what's this thing doing?"

"I think he's curious," Katara simply said.

Suddenly, Momo jumped onto Zeb's head and tried to find bugs in his fur, which greatly annoyed him, "Hey!" Zeb shouted as he tried to swat the lemur away, "Get off!" he shouted again before giving a growl as Momo crawled onto his back, "This thing's almost as bad as Chopper!"

"That's a first," Sabine said with a little amusement. She then turned her attention to Aang who was sitting in a very tense manner, "Is he okay?"

Katara looked to Aang with worry, "We're not really sure. He's been acting weirdly for the past few days."

"Why's that?" Sabine asked.

"We'll explain when we get to the palace."

Sabine sighed and put her hand to her head, "We are so overdue."

Soon, Appa landed outside the Fire Nation royal palace, and as Zeb, Sabine, and Team Avatar climbed down from his saddle, the citizens couldn't help but stare and whisper at the sight of Zeb and Sabine.

"We're making all sorts of friends today," Sabine muttered.

"That's one way to put it," Zeb added.

Everyone walked into the palace where they found Zuko and the Kyoshi Warriors came running up to them.

"Guys!" Zuko called before he and the warriors came to a stop a few feet from the Gaang, "You made it!"

"Yeah, but your psycho sister escaped," Toph admitted.

"Perfect…" Zuko sighed and put his palm to his face.

Iroh stepped forward and puts his hand on Zuko's shoulder, "Don't worry, nephew. We'll find her."

Zuko smiled, feeling reassured by his uncle, "Thanks, Uncle," he said before turning his attention to the others and looking up at Zeb, "What the?!" he shouted in a bit of fright.

The Kyoshi Warriors got into their fighting stances, and Zeb got ready to pull out his Bo Rifel before Katara stepped between them, "Don't hurt him! He's a friend!"

"But what is he?" Suki asked.

"He's a Lasat," said Sabine.

Ty Lee couldn't help but just look confused, "A what?"

"We'll explain later," Sabine said, getting a little annoyed.

"We met them at the Mental Hospital fighting the Rough Rhinos," Katara told them, "And as it turns out, they aren't from our planet either."

"Wait… What do you mean either?" Sabine asked, thinking that she already knew the answer.

"She's talking about the Galactic Empire," Aang answered.

Sabine widened her eyes, "Wait, the Empire's made contact already?"

"Yeah, why?" Sokka asked, getting the sense that she knew something.

"They're not supposed to do that unless their cover is blown somehow."

"Well, they made contact with us after we had a run-in with some kind of machine," Suki stated.

Zeb raised an eyebrow at what Suki had said, "What kind of machine, exactly?"

* * *

Zeb and Sabine were led to the examination room, and upon seeing the components, Sabine couldn't help but stare, "Whoa."

"So you know what it is, my dear?" the Mechanist asked.

"Yeah, it's some kind of Imperial Probe Droid."

"A what?" Sokka asked.

"They're used to survey worlds and look for enemies of the Empire," Sabine answered while looking over the wreckage, "but I've never seen one like this."

Aang started to grow even more worried, "What do you mean?"

"It must be a new model," Sabine concluded, "My guess is they're still testing it. But this may be good news for us."

Zeb couldn't help but stare at the Mandelorean in disbelief, "Since when is a probe ever good news for us?"

"Because I might be able to use its parts to fix my comm so we can contact Hera and Kanan," explained Sabine.

"Who are Hera and Kanan?" Aang asked.

"Yeah, and what's a comm?" Sokka added in.

Sabine groaned, "Just give me some time to work here," she said as she took a small tool kit out from her belt.

* * *

Aboard his Star Destroyer, Governor Tarkin looked out over the planet, internally debating on how to demonstrate the Empire's power to the people when a crewman approached him.

"Moff Tarkin," the officer addressed.

"Yes, what is it?" Tarkin asked, not taking his eyes off the planet.

"A unit has returned from a scouting mission to the planet's surface, and they have a prisoner."

Tarkin raised his eyebrows in surprise and turned to face the crewman, "A prisoner?"

"Yes sir," the crewman said as he handed Tarkin a pad device with a field report.

Tarkin paged through the report and saw the probe's footage of Azula bending blue fire, and then the Stormtroopers' helmet footage of her using lightning on them. When he reached the end, the outer rim governor simply looked at the crewman, "And why didn't our troopers simply kill her?"

"They said that she's a princess to the Fire Nation, one of the governing nations of this planet, but is considered an enemy to her world," the crewman answered.

Tarkin, looked back at the device for a moment, "The report says that she had escaped from a mental institution," he stated before looking up again, "She may be too unstable and dangerous now, but perhaps, given time and treatment, the enemy of our enemy could become our friend. Where is she now?" he asked.

"Restrained in the brig," the officer answered, "The medical droids are keeping her sedated for now because of how dangerous she is."

"Inform the droids to give her something to help clear her head," Tarkin ordered, "I will speak to her when she awakens."

* * *

Back at the temple, Kanan walked the grounds outside pondering what his vision was telling him. He then stopped to look over a field filled with several large wooden poles planted in the ground, and a board at each end. Kanan could only assume that all of this was for some kind of game, but all of this was just making him even more confused, "I still don't understand."

Suddenly, he heard the sound of people screaming again, and when he turned around, he saw a large comet streaking across the sky, the same one from his vision earlier. He then looked to see the temple in flames. He closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, everything around him was like it was before. Kanan couldn't figure what was happening.

Kanan then thought for a moment then he came up with the answer, "Something happened here. Something or someone killed all the people who lived here," he said to himself, "But how? And why?"

Kanan then sat down and began meditating, hoping the force would help provide him with answers. After a moment, he opened his eyes and was greeted by a horrifying sight. All around him he saw dozens of soldiers ruthlessly striking down the temple's inhabitants, who appeared to be some kind of monks like the man from the statue, with streaks of fire shot from their bare hands. He could see the horrified expressions, and feel their fear as they tried to defend themselves against the massive fire blasts brought on by the soldiers, but it was futile.

 _"Run Caleb! Run!"_ Kanan heard his master's voice shout with the echo of blaster fire in the background. Kanan opened his eyes and gasped.

"That's something I wish I could forget…" he said as he rubbed his eyes and stood up.

Later on, Kanan entered a destroyed area of the temple and found a human skeleton lying on the ground. He couldn't help but feel sorrow for whoever he saw before him. A moment later he noticed that the skeleton was wearing the same necklace as the man he found the statue of. Suddenly, he felt an inexplicable urge to touch it. Kanan didn't really know if this was a good idea, but he had the feeling that someone or something was trying to help him. Upon touching the necklace, he began to see images of Monk Giatzo and a young energetic boy.

After he removed his hand, Kanan began sensing something else, "There's still one of them left," he said, his thoughts lingering on the boy in the vision.

Kanan then carefully took the necklace off of Giatzo's skeleton and began laying rocks on top of it, giving the fallen monk a proper burial. He then picked up a glider staff he'd found lying next to him and used it to mark the grave. Suddenly, Kanan felt something inside, telling him that he should go into the temple.

"I'm almost done."

* * *

Back aboard Tarkin's ship, Azula began to wake up in her cell. All of a sudden, she noticed the presence of a pounding headache, causing her to clutch her head and groan.

 _"She's waking up, sir,"_ said a strange monotonous voice.

"Excellent," came another, but this one sounded more calm and calculative.

Azula sat up and was greeted by the sight of Tarkin and a medical droid.

"What?!" she exclaimed, starting to snap out of it, "Where am I?!"

"You are aboard my ship," Tarkin replied.

"Your ship?!" Azula looked around and then glared at the Regional Governor.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin, Governor of the Outer Rim Territories and representative of the Galactic Empire."

"Galactic Empire? There's no such organization," the princess stated with great confidence.

"We have only recently discovered your world," Tarkin corrected, "hence why you have never heard of us."

"So you aren't from our world?" Azula asked the governor.

"Correct," Tarkin acknowledged, "And you are Princess Azula of the Fire Nation."

Azula found herself a bit surprised at hearing this, "How do you know who I am? You just said that you aren't from our world."

"We've been monitoring your world since our arrival and have learned many things about it."

Azula looked to Tarkin with a sly smile, starting to become intrigued. "Really now?"

"Indeed. We have also made contact with your people, however, it seems as though they will not surrender to us."

"Perhaps they should be taught a lesson," Azula said, her voice suddenly becoming more dangerous.

Tarkin simply smirked at Azula's suggestion, "Great minds think alike. I suppose you have a suggestion?"

"I do, but my services do come at a cost."

* * *

Back at the Fire Nation Palace, Sabine was busy at work, using some of the leftover pieces of the Probe Droid to repair her comm. link.

"How's it coming, Sabine?" Zeb impatiently asked after a while.

"Almost got it," Sabine said as she pried another part from the remaining circuitry. Suddenly, sparks flew from the Probe as Sabine pulled out the part, and the probe began speaking in an Imperial code. Sabine listened closely and after the transmission finished, she just stood there like she was in shock, "Oh no…"

Aang looked up, his eyes conveying a sense of worry after hearing what had just been said, "What, what's wrong?"

"That was an official Imperial airstrike order," Sabine explained, "The Empire's ordered an attack on a city at dawn."

"What?!" Zeb shouted, "Isn't that against protocol?!"

"Usually, if they haven't made contact yet, but seeing as how they already have…"

"Do you know what city?" Zuko asked, starting to panic.

Sabine tried to remember what the code said about the location, "I think it said… Omashu." Upon hearing where the city's name, the members of the Gaang almost froze with widened eyes. Sabine looked at their faces and knew it could only mean one thing, "I'm guessing you guys know where that is?"

"It's an Earth Kingdom city that my friend Bumi is king of," Aang said before he started to sway at the thought of what was going to happen.

Katara grabbed onto her boyfriend's shoulders and looked him right in the eye, "Aang, it's gonna be okay. We'll get to Omashu and get Bumi and everyone else out of there."

"I'll have a messenger hawk sent to the city to let them know to evacuate," Zuko said.

"Then I guess we'd better come too," Sabine said putting her helmet and loading her blasters.

"Seriously?" Zeb said in disbelief.

"They'll need our help if they're goanna face the Empire. I've already fixed the comm, so I'll tell Hera to meet us there."

Zeb knew he wouldn't win no matter what he said, so he just gave in, "Alright. I guess I haven't punched any bucketheads in a while."

"I'm coming too," Mai said, "My family's there."

"Your family? What are they still doing there?" Zuko asked his girlfriend.

"I'll explain on the way," Mai replied, not wanting to waste time.

"We need to move! Now!" Sabine stated, knowing how well coordinated the Empire was, meaning that they had very limited time before they would arrive start leveling the city.

* * *

Back at the temple, Kanan proceeded through the halls of the building, until he came to a set of doors with an odd mechanism with three blue swirls keeping them locked, which must have meant there was something very important in there.

Kanan just sighed "I sure hope I'm getting somewhere."

Kanan reached out his hand and used the Force to try to open the door. A few seconds later, he began to hear the turning of gears and switches until the door began to open. Once it was fully opened he entered the sanctuary to find multiple statues of different people, some of which were wearing the same styles of clothing, yet Kanan could sense they all had something in common, as if they shared the same presence.

"Statues? Okay, this is definitely weird," Kanan said to himself. He looked closer at the statues and saw that they were all lined up in a pattern. He walked around the room taking a good look at each statue, until he eventually came to the one in the center of the room, one that depicted a bearded man wearing a small, flame-shaped, crown-like hair piece. Somehow, Kanan had the feeling as if this person was talking to him, like whomever this statue was depicting, was the one showing him what had happened. He reached out and touched the statue, and all of a sudden, its eyes begin glowing, as did the eyes of all the other statues. Through the Force, Kanan began to see glimpses of each person that the statues depicted, including the one in the center, until he eventually came to the same boy he saw earlier. At first the boy was just sitting in what appeared to be a meditative position, then he opened his eyes and revealed them to be glowing. The light from the glow started to intensify until Kanan couldn't see anything. Just then, he began hearing Hera's voice through his comlink and he snapped out of his vision.

 _"Kanan! Are you there?!"_ Kanan heard Hera shout at the other end.

"Huh?" Kanan shook his head to clear it, before picking up his comm., "Yeah, Hera, go ahead."

 _"I just got word from Zeb and Sabine! They're saying the Empire is launching an airstrike on a small city close to your position!"_

"What?!," Kanan shouted, on the verge of panic, "Are you sure?!"

 _"Yeah. They're already heading there to help with the evacuation, but we need to get there now if we're gonna save them!"_

Kanan immediately rushed out of the room, and started running through temple, "Okay, I'm on my way! Send me the coordinates!"

* * *

 **Me: Well that was a long wait, but it's done! I'd like to once again thank my coauthor GoX335 for helping me with this, he's really been a big help with this and some of my other stories! Thanks man! For those of you who don't know, or might've forgotten, Kanan's real name is Caleb Dume. It was mentioned by Maul in Season 3 of Rebels, and was officially revealed beforehand in the Star Wars: Kanan comic series by Marvel. I don't own ATLA or Star Wars Rebels, please read and review, but be nice!**

 **PS: If anyone has been in contact with an author named BrawlerGamer, can someone please tell me if she's alright or try to have her contact me? I haven't heard from her in a while, and I'm really worried.**


End file.
